Electronic components often generate operating temperatures that can cause component damage and circuit failure if temperature control methods are not employed. The generally preferred temperature control method is to use a heat sink to transfer heat from the heat generating components to the ambient air surrounding the associated electronic assembly. A heat sink can be made of any material with favorable heat transfer characteristics, such as copper, aluminum or steel, although aluminum is generally preferred for cost and weight reasons.
In most cases a heat generating component is placed in direct contact with a heat sink in order to provide for the most efficient transfer of heat from the component to the heat sink. After the heat sink absorbs heat from the component, the heat dissipates throughout the heat sink structure and transfers by conduction or convection to the surrounding ambient air.
A typical electronic circuit will have a number of heat generating components or devices fastened to heat sinks. This usually means that the printed wiring or circuit board on which the heat generating components are mounted must be able to accommodate a number of heat sinks. This also means that factors other than temperature control must be taken into consideration when designing a board mounted electronic assembly. For example, the amount of real estate on the board required by heat sinks must be considered in designing the board layout as well as the volume of the space available in the enclosure housing the electronic circuit. In many such cases the real estate on the board and enclosure space occupied by heat sinks will constitute a significant percentage of the total board space and enclosure volume available. This means that circuit designers must address heat dissipation problems from a space and weight viewpoint in order to produce the highly valued small electronics system that customers prefer.
Some of the space and volume concerns related to heat control have been addressed by designing new board arrangements for heat sinks. In order to permit such new arrangements to be used, new heat sink designs have also been developed to provide better thermal performance in less space.
Designing heat sinks and arranging them to provide for more efficient thermal performance in a smaller space has, in some instances, created its own set of problems. One such problem is that the amount of working space on the printed circuit or wiring board has been reduced, making it more difficult to assemble the circuit. Another problem is that the mounting surfaces on the heat sink to which the heat generating components are fastened are not as accessible as they were on prior art heat sinks. Prior art threaded fastener secured clamps can sometimes be very difficult to use in fastening electronic components to the heat sinks. In some cases, the most advantageous heat sink geometry does not provide paths for tools to reach screws and other fasteners, thereby preventing this advantageous heat sink geometry from being used with prior art clamps. These prior art devices often require significant time and effort to attach an electrical component, which, of course, adds manufacturing cost and hampers production efficiency. Prior art spring clip designs do not address the problem of mounting components on the opposing sides of a heat sink leg.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a device that can be used to secure heat generating components to a heat sink where access to the mounting surface on the heat sink is limited because of design considerations.